


Routine

by DangerRollins



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Short & Sweet, idk why i felt the need to tag that but, rick loves the twilight zone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 03:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14127084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangerRollins/pseuds/DangerRollins
Summary: Negan wonders if their routine is too boring for Rick.





	Routine

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."

Negan stared out of the window, hazel eyes following the raindrops as they fell from the sky quickly, lightning flashing every few seconds and thunder roaring loudly, covering up the sound of the TV every once in a while. His elbow rested against the arm of the couch, his middle and index finger tracing his lips softly, his brow furrowed as he sat there in a bit of a daze.

His long legs, crossed at the ankles with his bare feet resting on the coffee table across from the couch, were covered with a fluffy blanket from their bedroom closet. Despite the fact that today was a pretty cold day, he refused to put on any socks or any thicker clothes. He wore his thin, grey long sleeve and his blue and black, plaid pajama pants almost every Saturday, and a sudden drop in temperature wasn't going to change that.

The room was dark, only being illuminated by the consistent lightning strikes and the light coming from the medium-sized television hanging on the wall. The clouds lingering in the sky made it seem like it was late in the evening, but it was still only noon.

"More hot chocolate." Rick's voice cut into his thoughts, causing him to turn quickly and face him. He sent the younger man a small smile and a grateful nod as he took the mug and lifted his blanket, waiting for Rick to settle on the couch before throwing half of it over him. Rick's eyes darted back to the television, glad to see he'd only missed the opening narration. He'd seen every episode of the twilight zone at least four times now, but he was still every bit of intrigued as he was when he'd first seen it. This was his favorite show, especially on a quiet, boring, rainy day.

That's what this was, too. A quiet, boring, rainy day.

It seemed that's all they ever got these days. Quiet, boring, rainy days that dragged on forever. Nothing eventful ever occurred; it was always the same thing. They woke up, they freshened up, they ate, they went to the living room and curled up on the couch together, watching old shows more often than they watched new ones, eating the same snacks, sitting in the same positions, doing the same exact thing they always did. Negan wasn't tired of it, he loved it. He loved spending time with Rick; he loved these days. These days when everything was calm and quiet and peaceful and they had nothing to do but love each other. Nothing to do but sit together and just soak in each other's presence. He lived for them, he loved them. He just wasn't so sure that Rick did.

Sure, it was Rick that always suggested that they just spend days like this doing nothing, just being with each other. Sure, it was Rick who fluffed the pillows and brought out the blankets and fixed the hot chocolate and turned on the TV and cuddled up to Negan with a big smile on his face. Sure, he seemed content, but Negan knew him better than that. At least, he thought he did.

Maybe Rick really did enjoy these days, maybe he liked their routine just as much as Negan did, but still, maybe he wanted to change things up a bit.

Negan and Rick had started off on rocky roads as a new couple. They'd met at a bar that Rick had been dragged to by his best friend at the time, and they'd immediately been attracted to one another, but they were polar opposites. Rick was hard-headed, stubborn, and a goody two shoes. Negan was cocky, overconfident, and got into more trouble than anything. They didn't exactly like each other, but they were drawn to one another.

When they first started, they were spontaneous. They were wild and unpredictable and unorthodox. It wasn't what Rick had been used to, but it was clear that he loved it. He'd told Negan so many times how happy he was that he'd saved him from his boring routine. Saved him from rotting away, always following a clear path, abiding by the rules, being a plain Jane—Or plain James, as Rick had corrected Negan.

Over time, they grew up. They settled into a routine. They were older now, both over thirty and semi-settled in life. They had jobs, they paid bills, they were adults. No more kid stuff. They couldn't behave like wild teenagers anymore.

Rick had never flat out said that he wished they could go back to when they first started out, when they were fun and wild and free, but Negan would imagine that he thought about it a lot. Rick would never say it, there were a lot of things he'd never say, but he knew.

Negan wondered if their relationship could be considered boring now. He wondered if the mischievous sides of them were fading away completely. He wanted to wreak havoc again with Rick, he wanted to do something a little crazy, spice things up a little.

"You have to reschedule your mid-life crisis, Negan. This is my favorite episode."

When Negan mentioned it, Rick jokingly brushed it off, but when he saw how serious Negan was, he cleared his throat and sighed before pausing the TV. "How long have you been thinking like this?"

"A while."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Rick narrowed his eyes at Negan and punched his chest playfully. "I love you. I love being with you. I love what we're doing now, it's nice. Really nice. I needed to be wild when we first met because I'd never done that before. I'd never explored before, I'd never been free before. You...Made me feel free. I didn't hate my quiet lifestyle because it was a quiet lifestyle. I hated it because it wasn't my choice. It was just who I was, automatically, from the moment I was born until I finally met you. Now my lifestyle is quiet and peaceful and normal and predictable because I want it to be. Because this is what I want. But it isn't boring. My life could never be boring with you."

And just like that, Negan's worries were whisked away, almost as if they had never even been there. Rick was just as content with the life they had as he was, and he didn't wanna go back to being wild and unorthodox and wreaking havoc.

Negan grinned at the younger man before planting a gentle kiss on his lips and then on his cheeks and forehead. He got back into his comfortable position and turned toward the TV again, gesturing for Rick to unpause it.

As the episode began to play again, Rick curled up into Negan's side, leaning up to press a kiss to his neck and jaw before turning to look at the TV again. The rain grew louder, the thunder and lightning more frequent, and Negan and Rick slowly grew closer. Negan was glad that this was their routine. He wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
